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Jonathan Ive, the man credited with developing some of the most important consumer electronic products of the last 15 years, has been handed a Knighthood by the Queen, thereby making him Sir Jonathan Ive. The honour was bestowed on the Brit in recognition of his services to design and enterprise, in particular during the last two decades at Apple, where he has been a key figure behind products like the iPod and iPhone.

In an interview with BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, Sir Jonathan reflected on his career within the technology industry and reaffirmed his enthusiasm for product design. In fact, he said that product design is more complex now that at any other time.

"I think the challenges are more significant now than they have been in the past," he explained to the broadcaster. "I think the consequences of getting it wrong are also more significant."

Sir Jonathan’s profile has perhaps become more prominent in recent months following the death of Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple. Despite Jobs’ passing in 2011, Sir Jonathan said that Apple’s short-term and long-term ambitions remain unchanged. The goal, he explained, is to "try and to design the very best products that we possibly can".

"We're very disciplined, very focused, and very clear, across the company - that is our goal."

He added that unlike most of its rivals, Apple's overarching ambition is not to maximise profits, despite pressure from shareholders. Instead, Sir Jonathan insisted, Apple is committed to producing the most iconic and innovative products that will compare favourably to the likes of the iPod and the iPhone.

Later this year Apple is expected to unveil the eagerly-awaited iPhone 5, which is sure to be a landmark moment for the smartphone industry. It remains to be seen, though, whether the company is able to maintain the extraordinary momentum it has built up over the last few years.

What do you see in store for Apple over the next decade?

Concept glasses project images onto the retina with pulsed infrared light (880-915 nm), subretinal photodiode sends the image to the nearvous system (via Stanford & Nature Photonics)

Advances in the field of optogenetics are bringing us one step closer to returning sight to the blind. Retinal degenerative disease leads to blindness due to a loss of photoreceptors in the eye. Current  technology includes intraocular cables and difficult surgery. However, a team of researchers from Stanford University have created a smaller more convenient device using near infrared light to transmit power and data into the eye.

Their system includes specially designed video goggles and photovoltaic subretinal electrode arrays. The video goggles record what the patient is seeing and then uses a small mounted-camera to send the information back in near infrared light pulses to the array. The pulses then electrically stimulate the optic nerve in durations of 0.5–4.0 milliseconds and two orders of magnitude below the safety limits. Additionally, the system allows image perception to feel more natural by preserving natural eye movement. The system has yet to be tested on humans, but the previous tests done on lab rats have all yielded promising results.

Overall, the system has many advantages over current methods to help restore vision. It is more practical, easier to implant into the eye, and allows eye movement to scan a view with a more natural feeling. Eliminating wires and power supplies will make the patient feel more comfortable with the final product. Soon a patient overcome with blindness due to retinal degenerative disease will be able to have surgery performed to restore vision. Medical innovations like show that every disssability will be overcome. This announcement comes off the heels of a recent subretinal implant test, see more after the link.

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Olympicene, graphene based molecule in the Olympic Ring pattern (via IBM research-Zurich, University of Warwick, Royal Society of Chemistry)

We’ve all seen (or even are) the sports fanatics wearing their teams favorite jersey’s or painting their faces on game day to show their support in one way or another. This ‘fever’ isn’t limited when it comes to the Olympics either, as Scientists from the University of Warwick, the Royal Society of Chemistry and IBM Research in Zurich have designed (albeit loosely) a single molecule that resemble the Olympic rings. Called ‘olympicene’, the molecule was created by the team of scientists using a compound related to a single layer of graphite (AKA graphene) that was assembled out of 5 benzene rings.

While it may indeed be a tiny work of art, it also has practical applications including the adaptation for use in next-gen solar cells or incorporated in future LED’s for better lighting. In order to get a high-resolution picture of olympicene, the scientists headed over to the Physics of Nanoscale Systems Group at IBM Research in Zurich, Switzerland where a team of engineers used a technique known as ‘noncontact atomic force microscopy’ to grab an image a single molecule. Essentially the engineer’s used a kind of atomic force microscopy where the imager is housed in the mechanical probe, which uses piezoelectric elements to scan the surface of an atomic structure by touching it. The non-contact form the engineers used is almost the same except the tip of the probe doesn’t come in contact with the subject but rather oscillates at a frequency slightly above that of the atomic structure being imaged. This creates a topographical image without being all ‘touchy-feely’. Now that’s what I call being a sports fanatic!

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LEMV (via U.S. Army & Northrop Grumman)

After a lengthy setback, Northrop Grumman is set to test-fly the US Army’s new ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) platform around the second week of June, 2012. The LEMV (Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle) spy blimp was developed by Northrop using ‘non-exotic’ (non-stealth) materials for the vehicles hull which is about the size of a football field. The pilotless dirigible can be outfitted with multiple payload ‘gondolas’ (Flexible Murphy Bay modules) that feature RADAR, full-motion 360⁰ camera’s, SIGNIT (Signals Intelligence) acclamation systems and LOS/BLOS (Line Of Sight/Beyond Line Of Sight) COMM Relay systems with interoperability with the Army’s DCGS-A computer system.

The massive blimp can carry up to 15,000 Lbs of payload depending on mission parameters and can stay aloft for 21 days when configured for ISR. The company states that the blimp has a greater than 22,000 ft ceiling capability with a ‘dash’ speed of 80 kts (or 92 mph) and a range of 1,500 to 2,400 nautical miles based on load. The LEMV is set to be tested in Lakehurst New Jersey and then head out to Florida where it will pick up its payload of sensitive gear. If all goes well and the different systems all check out, it will then head overseas (Afghanistan?) for a ‘front-line’ demonstration of its capabilities.

The LEMV blimp is by no means a first of its kind as the US Air Force has the MavShip ‘Blue Devil’ that does almost the same function as the LEMV, and the US Navy/Marine Corps have been using PGSS (Precision Ground Surveillance System) blimps throughout Afghanistan for quite some time now. Unlike other UAV’s these ISR vehicles can carry more equipment and can be monitored 24/7 which can decrease the amount of IED emplacements in and around monitored areas, but they are more vulnerable over their winged counterparts. I wonder if these airships will be fitted with some sort of weapons system? (If they haven't already.)

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